intact. He hopped over to one of the two emergency consoles and checked it. The first one had no power. The other console was on the far side of the dome. Looking back, he saw the mess of fallen over furniture, cracked ice chairs and couches, splintered all over the floor. As he began hopping his way over, he stumbled as his magnetic boots picked up on working floor gravity. The sudden movement brought him to his hands and knees. As he looked up, he gasped as he saw a pair of boots sticking out from under a mountain of ice.
“I found someone,” he shouted into the helmet.
Horace stood up quickly, and felt dizzy. It was the loss of blood. He had to move fast. He moved over to the pair of boots and began shoving the ice aside. The ice crashed without a sound. They were in a vacuum. He stood back for a moment as stars began to swim in his vision. That’s when he noticed the other bodies. He couldn’t quite make them out, but they hadn’t made it into their suits. Their blood was frozen into the shards of ice splintered across the dome. He started counting, two, three, and then seven bodies.
Something was wrong.
Stumbling over the ice, Horace continued to dig out the ice from over the first body he had found. The pieces of ice floated off before falling away slowly. It reminded him of when he was first on board the craft that brought them to the ice moon. The fantasy of floating pens and globules of water. It had all been so foreign to him, and yet now, all too familiar. What would it be like for them to go back home? To Earth? How would they all handle it? How would he?
He uncovered the last chunk of ice from over the body and the sight stunned him. It was Captain Charles Hoarry. There, in the flesh, or what was left of him. Horace stood up quickly and fell over backwards, in slow Europa gravity. He laid there for a moment as the stars continued to swim in his vision. For a brief moment, the realization that he was bleeding to death hit him. Panic erupted in his mind, if just for a second or two. Then, warm peace came over him, and he felt himself slipping away.
The dome roof tore away at the last moment, and the gas giant, the father-god of the Romans, Jupiter, stood there before him. Millions of miles of raging storms taunted him, made fun of him. He was weak, alone, and on the frozen moon, 365 million miles from Earth; he was dying.
Day 12 AE
- Susan –
When the ice shook and began to splinter, she had two thoughts in her mind, and neither were for hers or anyone else’s safety. First, she had to turn off the water flow, and then seal the individual rows of plants. Those actions ensured the survival of most of the growing plants in the green dome. In her desperation to save her plants, she had neglected to get into a suit and hadn’t even worried for a second if anyone else needed help. A day later, the realization of her actions had hit her hard.
Ben had already chewed her out. He didn’t need to. She knew she had messed up and it had been pure luck that she wasn’t dead. Of all the domes on the base, the green dome was the only one that hadn’t ruptured. In fact, at the moment, the plants in the dome were being used as a filter and air provider for the two other repaired domes. The ice cover over the green dome was also serving as a radiation barrier for the survivors while new covers were being melted and poured onto the surface of the other domes.
Already five people had been lost to the alien ship, including her Gary. Cary had found the body of Geoff nearly a mile from the dome he had been in when it ripped open. She had brought him back and he was still on ice while they fixed the base. They sure could have used him. Horace had suffered a really bad hit to the head, and had lost a lot of blood, but was still alive, and currently stable. Bobby was still missing and since the network was still down, they had no way of finding out where he was at the moment of the quake.
The icequake.
The spot that
“I found someone,” he shouted into the helmet.
Horace stood up quickly, and felt dizzy. It was the loss of blood. He had to move fast. He moved over to the pair of boots and began shoving the ice aside. The ice crashed without a sound. They were in a vacuum. He stood back for a moment as stars began to swim in his vision. That’s when he noticed the other bodies. He couldn’t quite make them out, but they hadn’t made it into their suits. Their blood was frozen into the shards of ice splintered across the dome. He started counting, two, three, and then seven bodies.
Something was wrong.
Stumbling over the ice, Horace continued to dig out the ice from over the first body he had found. The pieces of ice floated off before falling away slowly. It reminded him of when he was first on board the craft that brought them to the ice moon. The fantasy of floating pens and globules of water. It had all been so foreign to him, and yet now, all too familiar. What would it be like for them to go back home? To Earth? How would they all handle it? How would he?
He uncovered the last chunk of ice from over the body and the sight stunned him. It was Captain Charles Hoarry. There, in the flesh, or what was left of him. Horace stood up quickly and fell over backwards, in slow Europa gravity. He laid there for a moment as the stars continued to swim in his vision. For a brief moment, the realization that he was bleeding to death hit him. Panic erupted in his mind, if just for a second or two. Then, warm peace came over him, and he felt himself slipping away.
The dome roof tore away at the last moment, and the gas giant, the father-god of the Romans, Jupiter, stood there before him. Millions of miles of raging storms taunted him, made fun of him. He was weak, alone, and on the frozen moon, 365 million miles from Earth; he was dying.
Day 12 AE
- Susan –
When the ice shook and began to splinter, she had two thoughts in her mind, and neither were for hers or anyone else’s safety. First, she had to turn off the water flow, and then seal the individual rows of plants. Those actions ensured the survival of most of the growing plants in the green dome. In her desperation to save her plants, she had neglected to get into a suit and hadn’t even worried for a second if anyone else needed help. A day later, the realization of her actions had hit her hard.
Ben had already chewed her out. He didn’t need to. She knew she had messed up and it had been pure luck that she wasn’t dead. Of all the domes on the base, the green dome was the only one that hadn’t ruptured. In fact, at the moment, the plants in the dome were being used as a filter and air provider for the two other repaired domes. The ice cover over the green dome was also serving as a radiation barrier for the survivors while new covers were being melted and poured onto the surface of the other domes.
Already five people had been lost to the alien ship, including her Gary. Cary had found the body of Geoff nearly a mile from the dome he had been in when it ripped open. She had brought him back and he was still on ice while they fixed the base. They sure could have used him. Horace had suffered a really bad hit to the head, and had lost a lot of blood, but was still alive, and currently stable. Bobby was still missing and since the network was still down, they had no way of finding out where he was at the moment of the quake.
The icequake.
The spot that
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